1. Field
Embodiments relate to the field of disaster risk reduction and disaster response. In particular, an embodiment of the invention relates to a support system for assimilating data and modelling behaviour of agents in a hazard situation in order to determine how best to intervene.
2. Description of the Related Art
Disasters cannot be totally prevented. However, with the deployment of appropriate technologies and best practice methods, the disaster risks can be significantly reduced and the remaining residual risks can be effectively managed. A range of decision support systems are in place around the world to deal with a variety of disasters, ranging from earthquakes and volcanic eruptions to wild bushfires and disease transmission.
A typical decision support system for disaster risk reduction and management consists of three main components: hazard event simulation; disaster planning; and communications. The hazard event simulation component provides input to the disaster planning component. The disaster planning component primarily uses a variety of techniques and data to identify and evaluate risk by taking into account of hazard intensity, asset exposure, and vulnerability. The communication component uses the assessed risk and enables decision making based on the current policies, and communicates to the disaster risk management professionals for further action.
Although many decision support systems use a variety of databases to enable decision making, access to such databases for high speed data analysis in real-time is not enabled. In addition to this, disaster planning components primarily rely on subjective expert judgements based on the hazard predictions and risk evaluations. In these instances, no objective analytical models or simulations are employed, which may lead to defective decisions and hence increased disaster risk.